Inked: Pacific Ink and Art Expo

By Alex Bitter

Published: 2013.08.01 06:00 AM

Kelii Makua, Reeda Martin, and Yoshi Asada (L to R) show off their skin art.

Photo: Dallas Nagata White

It’s a good month for tattoo enthusiasts, many of whom will be gathering at this month’s Pacific Ink and Art Expo. The event attracts both fans and artists in a range of tattoo styles, from traditional Hawaiian kakau to the methods of the late Chinatown-based legend Norman Collins—better known as Sailor Jerry.

Danny Casler, one of the event’s founders, points to the roughly 20,000 attendees at last year’s inaugural expo as evidence that the art form has shed its association with criminal activity and become more accepted.

“We’re in a whole new world,” he says, “I think we hit it at the right time.”